Glaucoma Clinic

Glaucoma( The Silent Thief of Sight)

Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in India and the world

1.What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a progressive disease of the optic nerve caused when the pressure inside the eye is higher than the optic nerve can withstand. It is called the 'Silent Thief of Sight' as Glaucoma can damage the vision so gradually that you may not notice any loss of vision until the disease is at an advanced stage

2. What are the signs and symptoms of Glaucoma?

Initially there are no symptoms of glaucoma. In few cases frequent headaches, frequent changes in spectacles power and minor loss of vision can occur. Sometimes colored halos around light may be a significant symptom.

3. What are the types of Glaucoma?

One of the major causes of glaucoma is increasing pressure on the optic nerve that causes its damage. Chronic open-angle glaucoma is the most common form where the drainage angle of the eye becomes less efficient over time, thereby increasing pressure and causing damage. Closed-angle glaucoma happens when the iris is too close to the drainage angle leading to blockage and increase in eye-pressure. This type of glaucoma should be treated immediately.

4. Who is at risk for Glaucoma?

Glaucoma can occur in anyone at any age. Some of the most common risk factors include;

Age > 40 years

People with a family history of glaucoma

Patients with diabetes

Steroid use

Hypermetropia ( Long sight)

Eye trauma

5.Types of Glaucoma?

A) Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

Aqueous Humor, a fluid within the eye formed from the ciliary body flows between the iris and lens and through the pupil enters the anterior chamber and exits through a drainage system at the angle where the iris and the cornea meet.

In primary open-angle glaucoma, the drainage angle remains open, but the drainage channels (trabecular meshwork) in the angle are partially blocked, causing the fluid to drain out of the eye too slowly. This causes fluid to back up in your eye, and pressure gradually increases within your eye.

B) Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma

Primary Angle-closure glaucoma occurs when the iris bulges forward to narrow or block the drainage angle formed by the cornea and the iris. As a result, fluid can't adequately flow through and exit your eye, and the eye pressure may increase abruptly. Angle-closure glaucoma usually occurs suddenly (acute angle-closure glaucoma), but it can also occur gradually (chronic angle-closure glaucoma). If you have a narrow drainage angle, sudden dilation of your pupils may trigger acute angle-closure glaucoma.

C) Other types of Glaucoma

Congenital Glaucoma

Normal Tension Glaucoma

Steroid Induced Glaucoma

Traumatic Glaucoma

Neovascular Glaucoma

Lens Induced Glaucoma

6. What are the symptoms of Glaucoma?

The most common types of glaucoma — primary open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma — have completely different symptoms.

Signs and symptoms of Primary open-angle glaucoma include:

Gradual loss of peripheral vision, usually in both eyes

Tunnel vision in the advanced stages

Signs and symptoms of Acute angle-closure glaucoma include:

Severe pain in the eye(s)

Nausea and vomiting (accompanying the severe eye pain)

Blurred vision

Halos around lights

Red eyes

7. How Glaucoma is diagnosed?

Your doctor may perform several tests to diagnose glaucoma, including:

Dr Solanki's Eye Hospital has a full fledged Glaucoma department functioning with state-of-the-art equipments like Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Visual Field Analyser etc and experienced surgeons to perform all types of Glaucoma surgeries and lead you to best possible visual outcome.

7. What are the treatments for glaucoma?

Glaucoma can't be cured, and damage caused by the disease can't be reversed, but treatment and regular checkups can prevent vision loss in people with early glaucoma. If vision loss has already occurred, treatment can slow or prevent further vision loss.To treat your condition, doctors may lower your eye pressure, improve drainage of fluid in your eye or lower the amount of fluid produced in your eye.

Treatment may include:

Eye drops:

Eye drops reduce the eye pressure either by reducing the production of the aqueous fluid or by increasing the drainage

Laser Iridotomy

It is done as first line treatment for Angle Closure Glaucoma. Herein an opening is made in the iris using laser to bypass the pupillary block

Surgery

You may need surgery to reduce the optic nerve damage when the medications fail to reduce the eye pressure to the required level.

Cyclodestruction

This procedure is reserved for eyes that have elevated eye pressure despite conventional medical and surgical treatment.

8. Does glaucoma have a permanent treatment?

There is no hundred percent cure for Glaucoma, but if it is diagnosed early, it can be prevented with the available treatments.

9. Is glaucoma caused blindness reversible?

Unfortunately, there is no treatment that can reverse the blindness caused by Glaucoma. That is why it is important to prevent it in the earlier stages.

10. How does glaucoma occur?

When the outflow channels which carries the aqueous fluid out of the eye, get blocked or narrowed due to various diseases leads to raised pressure on the optic nerve. This constant pressure on the optic nerve hampers the blood supply to it, which in turn leads to gradual and permanent blindness..

11. How frequently does the patient have to visit for a check-up?

The frequency of follow up depend on the type and severity of glaucoma and response to treatment

12. Treating glaucoma before it causes permanent damage

Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve – the part of the eye that carries the images we see to the brain. When the optic nerve is damaged blind spots start appearing, which often go unnoticed, until the nerve is significantly damaged. If left untreated, Glaucoma could lead to total blindness.

13. Dr.Solanki’s Eye Hospital expertise in glaucoma treatment

In this vital area of vision management, Dr. Solanki Eye Hospital presents several laser-guided, surgical and medical alternatives. Owing to its ace Glaucoma team and current-generation tools, the hospital has been able to make early and accurate diagnosis and conduct sensitive monitoring of the progression of this disease, leading to significant achievements in vision loss prevention.